- On July 13, the FDA, USDA, and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), published the “120 Day Food and Agriculture Interim Risk Review,” which is a memorandum on strengthening the security and resilience of the US food and agriculture (FA) sectors against domestic and global threats. The interim risk review focuses on two primary goals:
- To identify initial hazards and risks to the US food and agriculture (FA) sector
- To identify initial mitigations actions to address those risks
- The interim risk review offers proposed short-term, mid-term, and long-term actions that could improve coordination and integration within the FA sector in strategic planning, information sharing and engagement, and understanding risks. Examples of the proposed actions include identifying communication gaps, improving sharing of threats, and convening a Food and Agriculture Defense Summit.
- The interim risk review is a required part of the implementation of National Security Memorandum (NSM) 16, “Strengthening the Security and Resilience of United States Food and Agriculture,” which was signed by President Biden in November 2022. NSM 16 is intended to strengthen the FA sector by identifying and assessing threats, strengthening partnerships to enhance resilience, and enhancing preparedness and response. The interim risk review will be used to inform the Federal Risk Mitigation Strategy, which is also outlined in NSM 16.